This invention relates to a manual sorter which can be used as a throughput aid for a reproducing machine. A reproducing machine including the manual sorter is also provided.
Numerous manual collating devices are known in the prior art which comprise a plurality of bins arranged in a row. Copy sheets are placed serially into each bin to obtain fully collated sets. Normally such manual collators are employed after the production runs have been completed and most often at a separate work station. This represents a substantial loss in throughput for the reproducing operation.
A work organizer has been provided for use with the Xerox 720 copier. This device consists of two vertical rows of generally horizontal sheet receiving bins which are placed to the side of the output tray of the copier. The bins are arranged so that the sheets are placed in them horizontally. This device has proved highly useful for organizing originals for copying and can be employed for collating the output copies.
In addition to manual collators and work organizers, numerous fully automatic sorting and collating devices are known in the prior art wherein the output of a reproducing machine is fed directly to the sorter and the sheets are distributed in a series of bins in order to obtain fully collated sets. Automatic sorters have found considerable application for high speed reproducing machines wherein it is not possible for an operator to keep up with the output of the machine. They have also been used with slower machines where the additional expense of the sorter can be tolerated.
It has been found desirable to provide some type of sorting or collating facility for the user of a low volume reproducing machine such as a xerographic copier. The lower volume machines generally make up to about 25 copies per minute. Such machines are generally employed for making smaller numbers of copies of originals and smaller numbers of sets of such copies. The manual sorters of the prior art, however, due to their location with respect to the reproducing machine and their bin orientations have not proved acceptable as a throughput aid in many cases because of the inability of the operator to keep up with the output of the reproducing machine.